I Have A Dream!

OK, I guess I'm a day late on this, since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was yesterday. But now that I think about it, MLK's life directly relates to the debt free journey. How? Well, he fought to achieve a dream that most people didn't think was possible. Unfortunately, I know there's still racism out there but society has come along way. There's all sorts of other prejudice in the world but I still think America is a great country, one that at least gives you the opportunity to live free. With that said, this is a place where dreams can still come true. Maybe all of your dreams won't come to fruition and achieving your dreams might not come easy. But nonetheless, you should dream and reach for the stars. If Martin Luther King Jr's life doesn't inspire you, I really don't know what will. He had everything against him but his passion and persistence made a difference. He had a dream for equality and did everything in his power to make that dream a reality.

The debt freedom journey can feel at times like an impossible task, like a war or a fight you just can't win. It will feel unfair as others live the lives you think you should have. You will be tempted to give up because it's so tough and being in debt makes life so much easier (that's what most people think). Worst of all, there will be many people in your life that potentially won't support you or just don't understand why you've decided to make such drastic lifestyle changes. But what you need to remind yourself of, is that debt limits your freedom. It makes it very difficult for you to live the life you want to live. In short, it kills your dreams!

I have had many dreams in my life and I feel that I have gone after most of them. One that comes to mind was my dream to play in the NBA. I made it to varsity high school basketball and have played just for fun since then. Hey, that's an accomplishment for a guy that stands 5' 3" on a good day. I dreamed of becoming an actor so I quit my high paying job to move to LA and give it a shot. I can say that I was successfully able to become an actor for a short time. Although I didn't "make it", I had many awesome experiences that I will cherish forever. While I was in LA, I dreamed of potentially singing for a living. I got my 7 seconds of fame on American Idol and I'll be content with that. I've also always dreamed of having a family of my own and providing for them the best I could. I have been blessed to have an amazing wife and 3 awesome children. We're also very blessed to have everything we "need" and a bunch of stuff we "want" as well. But my dreaming hasn't stopped, sometimes I feel like a kid as I often ask myself what do I want to be when I grow up.

Before I started the debt free journey, I was confident many of my remaining dreams were unattainable. Since I needed to continue to earn the high salary I was getting so we could continue living our lifestyle, there was no way I could quit to open up my own business. Since we were basically living paycheck to paycheck, there was no way I was going to save any money to contribute to my kids' college funds. And since I wasn't going to ever strike it rich doing what I was doing, I guess I would have to wait till I was 65 or older like everyone else to enjoy a retirement. Those were 3 dreams that I just couldn't imagine would be possible in my lifetime. But thank goodness I finally saw the light and started my hatred towards debt. Now, my wife and I have a concrete plan that will enable me to start the business I've been talking about for so long. The best part of the plan is that I won't have to worry about maintaining our lifestyle because we've learned how to live without things we don't need. I have piece of mind that I can leave my job to start my dream business per our plan and our family will be just fine. We also have the kids' college education expenses planned for. Without debt, we're able to take that money that used to go to creditors and direct it to savings for our children. We're also going to push them to get grants and scholarships but in the unlikely event they can't secure any free money on their own, we'll be prepared to have them covered. Last but certainly not least, we have a master plan to truly retire by the time Caitlyn graduates high school. That means being able to live off the money in our nest egg for the rest of our lives, without having to work another minute. There's no more waiting till I'm 65 or later to start retirement, I can realistically begin much earlier. And in case you're wondering, Caitlyn will graduate when I'm 50.

Like Dr. King, I have a dream for freedom! Although our dreams are quite different on the surface, the underlying principle for freedom is the key. I'm so blessed to live in a place where I have the opportunity to pursue my dreams and I now know that debt won't be something that holds me back!